BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — As students and teachers prepare to head back for the fall semester, AT&T and leading nonprofit Connected Nation are continuing work to put the connectivity solutions vital to education into the hands of those who need it most.
AT&T announced that six Louisiana schools will be receiving more than 1,200 free hotspots and free internet connectivity.
The schools and organizations receiving the hotspots are:
- Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School, Baton Rouge (50)
- Living School, New Orleans (89)
- Louisiana Schools for the Deaf and Visually Impaired, Baton Rouge (167)
- Warren Easton Charter High School, New Orleans (175)
- Elan Academy Charter School, New Orleans (262)
- InspireNOLA Charter Schools, New Orleans (500)
“The Pandemic has highlighted the importance of connectivity in the home, and this kind of support and engagement from AT&T and Connected Nation is beneficial to keeping students connected to the classroom,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Cade Brumley.
More than 281,000 students in Louisiana currently lack access to the connectivity and devices required for online learning. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of students were required to virtually attend classes because of the ongoing surge.
“Schools like these are critical to serving and supporting students across Louisiana,” said Sonia Perez, president, AT&T Southeast States. “By helping to expand connectivity for these students, we can play a role in narrowing the homework gap, bringing opportunities for virtual learning into many more homes.”
In addition to the hotspots, AT&T will expand their wireless affordability for all schools and service them with unlimited wireless data plans that include content filtering services to support online safety protocols.